Readings.com.au: Women Travel Writers

A House In Fez

When Suzanna Clarke, current arts editor of the Brisbane Courier, and her husband Sandy McCutcheon, formerly of ABC Radio National, first travelled to Morocco in 2002, little did they think they would end up buying and painstakingly restoring a house there. The idea was preposterously 19th century, as one of their friends dismissively commented, and their lives were well and truly based in Brisbane, not in the Maghreb. But the medieval medina in Fez, Morocco’s most historically important city, worked its magic on them and soon they were the proud owners of a 300-year-old, architecturally significant riad(traditional courtyard house). This book tells the story of their painstaking restoration of the house, and of Suzanna and Sandy’s growing understanding of the Moroccan people and their wonderfully rich culture.

To Hellas And Back: My Modern Day Greek Tragedy

When Lana's gorgeous Greek-Australian boyfriend, Dion, is offered his dream job in Athens, it seems like the perfect opportunity to share an unforgettable experience abroad. But this is one travel adventure that doesn't go quite to plan. For an energetic Australian party girl, life in the sun-drenched cradle of civilisation turns out to be anything but idyllic. Lana struggles to learn Greek words past 'hello' and 'pencil', to articulate beyond giggling and pointing, and to find a hairdresser who doesn't leave her with a hairdo the size of a grand piano. Meanwhile, Dion is loving every minute of his new life, working long hours and seemingly moving further and further from her reach just when she needs him the most. At once hilariously funny and deeply moving, this is a cross-cultural love story with the whole catastrophe - a big fat Greek wedding, a sonworshipping mother-in-law, a fast-crumbling psyche, the best gay pal a girl could ever hope for, and an unexpected ending.

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Buying A Piece Of Paris

Paris has seduced many admirers, but for visiting Australian Ellie Nielsen it's true love. So deep is her infatuation that, if she can't have it all to herself, she'll only be satisfied with buying her own little piece of Paris.

The object of her desire seems so simple: the sort of apartment she's seen a thousand times in magazines and books. Something effortlessly charming, and old, and quirky – and expertly decorated. Something exuding character and Parisian chic. Something quintessentially French.

The trouble is, she has only two short weeks in which to realise her fantasy – and she must somehow negotiate the deal in a foreign language without offending French real-estate etiquette. Is this even vaguely possible, or just a ridiculous folly?

Buying a Piece of Paris is a charming and witty love-song to the most beautiful city in the world. Written with great verve and a superb ear for language, it is a joy to read and a pleasure to dream about.

La Vie Parisienne

After an ill-fated affair with the Queen Mother’s equerry, a young London-based Australian journalist, Janelle McCulloch, runs away to Paris to restore her pride. The city leaves an indelible print and she returns many years later to live there for a year. La Vie Parisienne captures Janelle’s experiences that year, immersed in life in Paris. An acute observer of Parisienne style in action, Janelle set off to re-invent herself and in the process, discovered she was very comfortable in her own skin.

At My French Table: Food Family And Joie De Vivre In A Corner of Normandy

In 2005 Jane Webster sold her house in Melbourne and moved to a rather run-down chateau in France. We see the chateau restored to its former glory, meet the local characters and discover the produce of Normandy at Jane's table - with 40 regional recipes.

Tracks

Robyn Davidson, a young woman who had "never changed a light-bulb, sewn a dress, mended a sock, changed a tyre, or used a screwdriver", took a train to Alice Springs in central Australia with six dollars in her pocket and a wildly unrealistic ambition: to capture wild camels, train them, and then cross the great desert of Western Australia with them.

Her journey is an exploit in the extravagant tradition of the great Victorian explorers, but Robyn Davidson is not only an explorer, but also a young woman who wishes to get past the negativity and alienation of modern, urban existence and seek fulfillment in close harmony with the natural world.

Testing her physical and emotional resources to the limit, Davidson crosses half of Australia on foot, in the process coming to know the desert, the rhythms of traditional Aboriginal society, and herself. Robyn Davidson seeks transformation, epiphany, and freedom, and eventually she finds these things.

Her story turns out to be not of a hand-to-hand battle with the forces of nature but of a passionate love affair with them.

Holy Cow An Indian Adventure

When the love of her life is posted to India, Sarah abandons her dream job for a dark, dingy flat in the most polluted city on Earth, New Delhi. After being cursed by a naked sadhu smeared in human ashes, Sarah almost dies from double pneumonia, but not before facing some serious questions about her fragile mortality and inner spiritual void.

This is a rollercoaster ride through a beautiful and bizarre land of chaos and contradiction, with a woman on a mission to save her soul, her love life - and her sanity.

Thousand Days In Venice An Unexpected Romance

This true midlife romance reads like a fairytale.' Sunday Life
'Replete with details of food and markets, with recipes appended, this is a sumptuous addition to the escape to Italy/France genre.' Sydney Morning Herald

When Fernando spots her in a Venice caf and knows immediately that she is The One, Marlena de Blasi is caught off guard. A divorced American chef and food writer travelling in Italy, she is happy with her life. Yet within a few months of meeting Fernando, she quits her job, sells her house, kisses her two grown children goodbye, and moves to Venice to marry 'the stranger' as she calls Fernando. Once there, she finds herself sitting in sugar-scented pasticcerie, strolling through 16th-century palazzi, redecorating an apartment overlooking the Adriatic Sea and preparing for her wedding in an ancient stone church.
But living this romantic dream is not always a smooth path. De Blasi is sometimes bewildered by the peculiarities of Venetian culture, and even mystified occasionally at the differences evident between she and Fernando. His Spartan tastes are a world away from the sensual delights she loves to create. Both set in their ways but also set on being together, they learn from each other what is important in their shared life.
A Thousand Days in Venice is filled with the flavours, sights and life of Venice. In de Blasi's evocative prose every trip to the food markets becomes an adventure, and every mouth-watering recipe a celebration of food and love.

'A richly joyous declaration of love.' Who Weekly
'a sensuous, beautifully written tale of love, lust and linguine. Harpers Bazaar

I Dreamed Of Africa

'Often, at the hour of day when the savannah grass is streaked with silver, and pale gold rims the silhouettes of the hills, I drive with my dogs up to the Mukutan, to watch the sun setting behind the lake, and the evening shadows settle over the valleys and plains of the Laikipia plateau.'

Kuki Gallmann's haunting memoir of bringing up a family in Kenya in the 1970s first with her husband Paulo, and then alone, is part elegiac celebration, part tragedy, and part love letter to the magical spirit of Africa.

My French Life

In 1999 Vicki Archer, with her husband and three children, made a lifelong dream a reality when she bought a seventeenth-century property in Saint-Remy-de-Provence. She spent three years lovingly restoring the farmhouse, bringing back to life the abandoned apple and pear orchards and planting an olive grove of more than 2000 trees. In My French Life Vicki shares an insider's view of life in France, telling her personal tale of taking risks, facing challenges and falling in love with all things French. Intertwined with Vicki's words are lavish photographs by Carla Coulson, which reveal the essence of instinctive French style.

Under The Tuscan Sun

Frances Mayes - widely published poet, gourmet cook and travel writer - opens the door on a wondrous new world when she buys and restores an abandoned villa in the spectacular Tuscan countryside. She finds faded frescoes beneath the whitewash in the dining room, a vineyard under wildly overgrown brambles - and even a wayward scorpion under her pillow. And from her traditional kitchen and simple garden she creates dozens of delicious seasonal recipes, all included in this book. In the vibrant local markets and neighbouring hill towns, the author explores the nuances of the Italian landscape, history and cuisine. Each adventure yields delightful surprises - the perfect panettone, an unforgettable wine, or painted Etruscan tombs. Doing for Tuscany what Peter Mayle did for Provence, Mayes writes about the tastes and pleasures of a foreign country with gusto and passion. A celebration of the extraordinary quality of life in Tuscany, UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN is a feast for all the senses.

Italy Out Of Hand

From one of the collaborators behind Paris Out of Hand comes an equally eccentric, charming, and bizarre guide—this time to Italy. Complete with handy phrases in ancient Latin and meticulous details of 12th century restaurants, Italy Out of Hand guides you through an askew Italy, populated by ghosts and gourmets and enchanted tourists in search of lost time.

Olive Season

I scan the terraces, planted with row upon row of ancient olive trees. It is April, late spring. Here in the hills behind the Cote d'Azur the olive groves are delicately blossomed, with their tiny, white-forked flowers. Beyond them, perched halfway up the slope of the hill, our belle epoque villa comes into view. Abounding in balustrade terraces, nestling among cedars and palms, facing out at a south-westerly angle, overlooking the bay of Cannes towards the sun-kissed Mediterranean, there it is, Appassionata, awaiting us ...

The Olive Farm told how Carol Drinkwater and partner Michel fell in love with and bought an abandoned Provencal olive farm. Now, in The Olive Season, Carol is pregnant and their ever-loyal gardener is leaving to oversee the marriage of his son. Often unassisted, and with new challenges to face, Carol takes on the bulk of the farm work alone. Water is, as ever, a costly problem, and she goes in search of a diviner who promises almost magical results. But, as the harvest season approaches, dramatic events cast dark shadows of their olive farm.